Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Prejudice Can Lead to Injustice

Prejudice can lead to injustice. Prejudice is defined as preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.Whether it be in the courtroom or judging the menacing looking dog before meeting it. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is present through the entire book. Many things in the book are judged, but two of them stand out against the rest. Tom Robinson, an honest hardworking man who just wants to help a neighbor, and Arthur Radley, a shy shut-in who just wants to observe rather than be a part of. Both are not judged for who they are but for what is rumored and said about them. Both are accused of horrendous things, that they did not do, and are convicted of because of the

The jury found him guilty of raping and assaulting Mayella Ewell. Though clear evidence of his innocence was presented (Lee, 186-187) the jury’s prejudice was set in stone and there is little if any chance that “‘...[a] jury will decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…’”(Lee, 208). No evidence, other than the word of Bob and Mayella Ewell, was presented in accusing Tom (halfway down page 196-middle of 197), but because prejudice is strong in an Alabama town, Tom is convicted and sentenced to death. Tom is quite literally, a victim of prejudice. Arthur Radley is made out to be a horrible person who can’t control his destructive impulses. He is tormented, talked badly about, and locked away in rumors that keep him from creating any friendships. But, when two children are attacked with a knife in the pitch black of night, Arthur runs to their rescue, he throws the attacker off and disarms him. He then picks up the badly injured child and returns him safely to his home. Arthur Radley risks his life, coughing “‘...violently, a sobbing, bone-shaking cough’”(Lee, 262) the whole way through it, but he doesn’t think twice about himself and rescues the children from a drunken slob bent on petty revenge. In return he gets a simple “‘Thank you...Arthur’”(Lee, 276). Only a few people who were there to witness the act of selflessness will ever remember him for it, but because he doesn’t want attention or fame or a reward for his bravery, he remains in the quiet. Prejudice led to Arthur being made out to be a terrifying monster, an injustice for a hero that saved two